Early Years

Essenes

It was not until about one hundred years ago when religiousscriptures from the East were translated into English that we beganto understand that Jesus was not the only God-man, but one ofmany enlightened masters who had realized their divine heritageand oneness with God.

Jesus was called the Nazarene, not because he was from Nazareth,but because he was an Essene. The term Nazarene means "one whoobserves—having an inner or supernatural vision." The Nazareneswere members of one of the Essene groups who lived in monasteriesthat had been founded by Buddhist missionaries sent by the greatEmperor Ashoka from India in 200 BC. They lived apart from thetraditional Jews and outside the boundaries of the town, near theDead Sea, in a quiet community of like-minded people. We nowknow that Jesus was raised in one of these monasteries where bothMary and Joseph were members. The Dead Sea Scrolls were foundnear the Qumran Monastery.

Not considered traditional Jews, they had been influenced bythe teachings of the Buddha, that had arrived two hundred yearsearlier when Ashoka, who had been converted to Buddhism, senteighty thousand missionaries to many areas of the Middle East. Onesuch place was Israel. Although made up of Jews, the communityresembled the Buddhist monasteries in many ways. Most werevegetarians, peace loving, all wore white robes, were knowledgeableabout herbs, and the most advanced were called Therapeutae,because of their remarkable healing abilities. In addition, and mostimportantly, they were on the path of enlightenment and knownas the Sons of Light. So instead of attending regular synagoguesand following the letter of the Jewish Law, as did the Pharisees andSadducees, the Essenes had a different focus.

The Bible never mentions the Essenes, which is surprising, sincethey were highly respected and had quite a following—about fourthousand. The historian Josephus, however, described the Essenes as"men of excellent morals who live throughout the land," and a secretbrotherhood who held meetings in their own monasteries and wereopposed to the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Essenes were not anOrthodox Jewish sect or anything remotely resembling one. Theywere Gnostics, part of the great Gnostic movement that survivedinto the early centuries of the Christian era. This Gnostic, mysticalcommunity, had access to the teachings of the enlightened ones fromHinduism and Buddhism. It was not the only one of its kind, forthere were many other Essene brotherhoods (like the one in Egypt)with whom they were in touch. And, in Northern India, in Kashmir,lived a large community of Jews with similar spiritual leanings, whowere descendents of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. They had foundthe Promised Land after all, but it was in a location where no onein Israel had considering looking. Moses and Solomon are buriedthere, and the descriptions in the Old Testament match the settingof the burial sites in India.

Two thousand years of Orthodox Christianity has paintedGnosticism as a great heresy that threatened the church and thePauline doctrine of God's only son who died to atone for the sinsof the world. But a lie and a secret can only survive for so long.The Egyptian Gnostics (part of the original Christianity lost tothe West and suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church), buriedtheir evidence in the burning sands of Egypt. They did not livelong enough to tell the story, but their scriptures did, having beendiscovered in Nag Hammadi in the middle of the twentieth century.The Nag Hammadi Scriptures only recently translated and madeavailable to the world, revealed the original Gnostic Christianity ofJesus and the Nazarenes, lost and buried for two millennia.

The Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi Scriptures reveal aChristianity, which not only preceded Paul, but also reveals the trueGospel of Jesus, John the Baptist, and most of the original disciples.The Pauline version of the mythological God-man who shed hisblood as a sacrificial atonement, could never have survived underhistorical investigation or the competition of the original Gnosticswho knew the truth. So both were conveniently eliminated. The reallife story of Jesus, far more fascinating than the mythical fable ofPaul and the church, was removed from the scrutiny of historians.Although the church prides itself on presenting the historical truth,it is actually a cover-up of the real story!

The ten lost tribes of Israel mentioned in the Old Testament werenever lost at all. They were the ones who found the Promised Landthat Moses had been seeking! They lived and still live in beautifulKashmir in Northern India, the center of Buddhism. Buddhism wasin its flowering period during the time of Jesus, and Kashmir wasthe central meeting place since it was close to Tibet, China, and waseasy to reach on the Silk Road, the main traveling route that woundthrough the Middle East and the Himalayas.

The three Wise Men mentioned in the Bible were no doubtlooking for a reincarnation of the Buddha. They followed the largestar that appeared when Jesus was a young child of two or three.Finding their new Avatar, they had Mary and Joseph promise thatwhen he became the age to begin study, he would journey to theEast to prepare himself for his mission.

The Kashmirian Jews, who had embraced Hinduism andBuddhism, were recognized for their wisdom. Ancient Tantricmeditation practices had come from this holy and beautiful place.In Israel too, there were those who engaged in Tantric practices aspart of their meditation. There was a secret, holy rite called maithunawhere sexual intercourse was a method of transcending male andfemale identification with the body in order to attain oneness withthe all—Transcendent Consciousness. It was probably during oneof these special ceremonies that Jesus was conceived. Mary andJoseph were both members of the Essene community. When youngthirteen-year-old Mary became pregnant, Joseph agreed to raise theboy as his own.

Just as the Tibetan Dalai Lama is chosen, an ancient practicewas to find the Holy One at an early age, even using astrology andastronomy. Since the Buddha had predicted that another GreatMaitreya Buddha would come in five hundred years, the Wise Menfrom the East were expecting his reincarnation and searching theskies for a sign. When Jesus was born, a large star appeared beforethem, and following it, they eventually found the young Jesus.Recognizing him as the expected Holy One, they received a promisefrom his parents that at the age of twelve or thirteen, he would returnto them for his spiritual education to assume the title of Avatar.

In Buddhism, the "Buddha of the Future" is called MaitreyaBuddha. In Judaism, Maitreya translated means Messiah. Herod hadalso heard the story that a Messiah was to be born. Fearing that itwould be someone who would overthrow his monarchy, he sent outa decree to have all the baby boys killed. So Mary and Joseph leftIsrael and went to the Essene community in Alexandria, Egypt. Thisis where they lived until it was safe to return. In Alexandria, they hadmuch more access to the teachings of enlightenment, which came tothem from India via the famous Silk Road. His great-uncle, Josephof Arimathea, was a trader in tin and a highly respected Essene whohad money and influence, and introduced Jesus to the universalunderstanding, which had also made its way to Europe.

It was not a surprise when Jesus spoke to the Jewish priests inthe temple, because even as a boy, they marveled at his knowledgeand depth of understanding.

In Alexandria, and available to the Essene community, wereViharas—centers set up by scholars for the study and practiceof Buddhism. The Sanskrit-Chinese Dictionary describes them:"Either an academy, a school, or a temple, they were constructedof red sandalwood, had thirty-two rooms, contained a garden, apark, a bathing pool, and a tea kitchen, were amply furnished andadorned with wall hangings, and well stocked with beds, mattresses,provisions, and all the necessary comforts."

Therefore, it was not simply in learning the carpenter trade thatJesus spent his early life.

Missing Years

Jesus Lived in India

When a Jewish lad reached the age of twelve, his wedding wasplanned, and the parents selected a young girl to be the future bride.However, the parents of Jesus had made a promise to the three WiseMen. So when the day arrived, instead of planning a wedding,arrangements were made for Jesus to join a caravan on the Silk Roadheading for India. He was to fulfill his spiritual destiny and studyBuddha's Hinduism for many years until he returned at the age ofthirty to teach what he had learned.

Maps were made and notes recorded to keep track of theseventeen years that Jesus spent in India. These writings were keptsafe and hidden in Hindu and Buddhist scriptures in the ashramsand monasteries that he visited on his journeys. The writings werenot discovered in the West for 1900 years and never included in theBible! So to the Christian world, this period, which has been omittedfrom their knowledge of Jesus, has been known as the Missing Yearsof Jesus.

However, for those living in Greater India, the name of Jesus(Issa, Isha Natha, or Yuz Asaf) would become quite familiar. AsJesus embraced the teachings of the enlightened ones, sharing whathe learned with the common people, they also embraced him; andhe attained quite a reputation as a spiritual teacher. His messageexpressed the universal truth, which began including not onlyJudaism, but also Hinduism and Buddhism, yet transcending themall.

Ancient maps and manuscripts have revealed that young Jesus(Issa) left Jerusalem when he was thirteen to study Buddhism inIndia. (See diagram.) He traveled to India via Assyria and Chaldea(Mesopotamia) in a train of merchants. The maps showed the traderoute started from Damascus, near the Tigris and Euphrates riverswhere they went through Nisibis and Babylon, and then on toCharax where one could proceed by ship or by road through Persia.By road, the caravan would have passed through Elam and Hormuz,and then to Sindh.

It was more than a year before he finally arrived at Sindh, theLand of the Five Rivers, where he lived with the Aryan people. Jesus'stay in Sindh was short, but then he passed through the Punjaband Rajputana where he met the followers of Jainism, (a sect ofHinduism founded by Varadhamana Mahavir, 599-527 BC). Theytaught purification of the soul through non-violence, noble and kindactions, and ate a vegetarian diet. Although they wanted him to staywith them, he pressed on to his original destination, the Temple ofJagannath at Puri in Orissa.

The Temple of Jagannath is a large institution. Numeroustemples, halls, and cloisters on four sides surround the main templein the center. Jesus stayed here for six years, during which time healso visited Rajagriha, Varanasi (Benares) and other holy cities. It washere he was introduced by the priests to the most holy scriptures ofHinduism, the Vedas.

Varanasi is the holy city of Hindus on the banks of the RiverGanges. People come to this city from all parts of India to pray andmeditate. Pilgrims bathe in the River Ganges and sprinkle water inthe air. The dead are cremated on the banks of this sacred river andashes are thrown into the water. Since ancient times, pilgrims havestood on the banks of the Ganges chanting prayers and performingbathing rituals.

Almost everything that has ever been said about Jesus hasparallels in ancient Hinduism. Since most people in the Westernworld have not read Sanskrit, they are not aware of the wordsor phrases. For example, in Hinduism, Brahma is the Father orCreator, Krishna is the Son, and the word incarnate and shepherdof all people, and Shiva is the Holy Spirit. This is obviously thesame as what Christianity refers to as The Trinity. The nameChrist is the same word as Krishna and the Greek word is Kristos.It is not a personal name, but a title like Buddha is for one who isenlightened.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna (as Christ-Consciousness) says:

For I am God within this body
Life immortal that shall not perish:
I am the Truth
and the Joy forever.

Probably still a teenager; Jesus gave his first sermon to the peopleat Varanasi speaking about the equality of all people before God.Nicolas Notovitch recorded it in The Life of Saint Issa.

Jesus said:

God the Father, establishes no differencebetween his children, who are equally dear tohim. Respect God, bow down on your knee beforeHim only, and make offerings only to Him.

The eternal Spirit is the one and indivisibleSoul of the universe, which alone creates,contains and animates the whole. He alone haswilled and created. He alone has existed frometernity and will exist without end. He has noequal, neither in the heavens nor on this earth.

The Great Creator shares His power withno one, still less with inanimate objects, forHe alone possesses supreme power. He willed itand the world appeared. By one divine thoughthe united the waters and separated them fromthe dry portion of the globe. He is the cause ofthe mysterious life of humanity, in whom Hehas breathed a part of his being. And He hassubordinated to humanity the land, the waters,the animals and all that He has created, andwhich He maintains in immutable order byfixing the duration of each.

God's wrath will be let loose on humanity;for it has forgotten its Creator and filled itstemples with abominations, adoring a host ofcreatures which God has subordinated to it. Theythat deprive their brothers of Divine Happinessshall themselves by deprived of it.

Help the poor, assist the weak, harm no one,do not covet what you do not have and what yousee in the possessions of others.

It was no wonder that this young, charismatic figure attractedlarge crowds. However, he angered the priestly Hindu Brahmansbecause of his unwillingness to abide by their caste system, whichdid not allow spiritual truths to be shared directly with the Sudrasor common people. Hearing his words and feeling threatened bythem, the Brahmin priests admonished Jesus to stop preaching tothe lower caste Sudras. Disgusted with their hypocrisy, Jesus left tovisit the Buddhists and learn from them.

There are many stories about the child of wonder who preachedagainst the Brahmins and Kshatriyas and taught the lower classSudras. The priests and warriors were so angry that they tried tokill him, but Issa escaped during the night leaving Jagannath andfinally arriving in the Himalayas. This was the land of Buddhismand birthplace of the great Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Man Who Woke Up

Buddhism began when the renegade Hindu Prince, SiddharthaGautama awakened through meditation to his universal identityas Formless Consciousness. This supreme awakening calledenlightenment is the highest stage of evolution yet possible for manon this planet, a transcendence of the suffering that comes from ego-consciousness,resulting in a second birth and the attainment of bliss.

The story of the Buddha, like Jesus' parable of the "Pearl of GreatPrice," teaches the lesson of the One and the many. Born to wealthand princely luxuries, Siddhartha was shielded by his father fromthe sorrows and suffering that are the common lot of most people.Much of his early youth was spent being pampered and spoiled, hiswhims and desires fulfilled without struggle. Siddhartha was a man,not unlike Socrates; a man not satisfied with superficial values andworldly success. He sought something deeper, more meaningful andan answer to the riddle of life if such was even attainable. He couldonly be shielded for so long, and when he encountered on the roadof life, the messengers of sickness, old age, and death, he recoiled inpain from all his sensual pleasures.

He saw beneath the outer veneer of his own wealth and pleasureto the underlying sorrow and pain that lies at the root of every man'searthly existence. Now in his twenties, Siddhartha saddled his horsein the middle of the night, took one last glance at his wife and son,and rode off into one of the greatest adventures of world history.

Wandering monks and ascetics were already a part of the Indiansociety, and the answer, which the future Buddha would discover,was already in the Upanishads and the great epic of Krishna in theBhagavad Gita. However, the attitude of the Buddha toward theinner life of the spirit could be summed up in the advice he later gaveothers: "Be a Light unto yourself. Do not take the beliefs or adviceof anyone else as the Truth. Search, probe, investigate for yourselfas to what is true and what is not. In this venture, hearsay is of littlevalue. Find out for yourself." He could offer such advice later, havingfollowed it himself in his own six-year quest for enlightenment.

He experimented with all the yoga and spiritual practices of theday, devouring them in short order and moving on to the next. Aftersix years of rigorous and often painful practices, he seated himselfunder the now famous Bodhi Tree, vowing never to get up againuntil he attained enlightenment.